Clifford Chance

The Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive - The new trust registration requirement and what it means for business

25 June 2018

The new EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) will require trustees of express trusts to register information on the beneficial ownership of the trust in a central national register. In a major change from the current rules, the new rules will apply to all express trusts – new and pre-existing – not just those that have tax consequences.

As Member States must implement the new rules by 10 January 2020, AMLD5 presents a challenging and onerous task for businesses – to identify all such trusts and register their beneficial ownership by that date as well as to build the appropriate systems to comply with the registration obligation for all new trusts.

This briefing explains how the new rules work and what steps corporate trustees and other businesses should be taking now.

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